Central Station was good for Whitefish, period

Flanagan’s Central Station was good for Whitefish, period. Maybe Jim Flanagan the man was not, according to others. This was revealed by our two local civil servants, John Phelps and Mike Ferda.

In a recent article in the “Flathead Beacon,” Phelps was quoted as saying that it was “a positive thing for the city that (Jim Flanagan) is going out of business.”

Mike Ferda was quoted as if talking out of both sides of his mouth, saying “We didn’t have it out for Jim Flanagan,” and in the next breath saying, “It was just the totality of everything that was having the police department focus on Flanagan’s.”

I hope people can understand why I feel that my concert venue/bar/restaurant was targeted by the police and the legal arm of the city of Whitefish. Only God knows who else did not want the bar/building here.

The way others would want you to believe it is that Flanagan’s was destroying Whitefish. I am sorry that I tried to bring something different to the fabric of Whitefish. I could not control how ugly the building is. Only I have a few things that need to be corrected before I leave.

So, let’s set the record straight about what Flanagan’s Central Station did for Whitefish.

Adults of only the age of 21-and-up could enjoy a safe and smoke-free night out. (As it stands, only the police seemed to want to bring in children.) The adults could relish in world-class music for low ticket-prices in a small intimate room and not feel threatened that a fight could break out at any moment.

Flanagan’s employed 10-15 full-time workers. My business filled the hotels with bands every week 3-4 times a week year-round. Plus hotel rooms that music fans booked when coming to a concert. The restaurants benefited from people planning a night out around a big music event.

I also like to think I gave Whitefish a second identity — a place where it felt special to come far distances to see and hear music. If being known as a ski town and summer resort, where you can be on a world-class mountain or lake by day and enjoy a national music artist at a nationally-accredited concert venue by night, is bad, then someone should inform Bill Foley and every hotelier.

But enough of all that. I want to take the high road out of town.

To my employees, to my everyday patrons who filled the downstairs with laughter and smiles, to only fans of the concert venue, also my Chicago Bears and Seahawks fans every fall, I am sorry I could not have done better. I am sorry I did not fight the good fight to try to stay open, but…

I am not sorry to have met everyone of you, and want to thank you all. Thank you for three great years of my life. I hope someday I will see your smiling facing coming out of a show of mine in the future.

Jim Flanagan is the former owner of Flanagan’s Central Station. He can be reached at jbflanagan@hotmail.com for any comments or letters to the writer.